Forget D'Antoni in Toronto

Raptors general manage Bryan Colangelo said he expects Mike D’Antoni to return to the sidelines soon, but said his close friend won’t wind up in Toronto.

“We’re locked down with our coaching, with [Dwane] Casey,” Colangelo said Monday, trying to nip in the bud any talk of his former Phoenix coach going north of the border after leaving the Knicks. “We’re in the first year of what I hope will be a long-term relationship.”

Colangelo was D’Antoni’s boss with the Suns and spoke to the former Knicks coach briefly over the weekend. D’Antoni’s reputation is still great around the NBA despite four tumultuous seasons in New York, Colangelo said.

“Oh, yeah, I anticipate he gets a job in the near-term future, if it’s not next year,” Colangelo said. “If he wants to coach, I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity. He’s a very good coach, an innovative coach.”

Two jobs likely to be available for D’Antoni at season’s end will be in Washington and Portland.

Colangelo said a lot of “uncontrollable things” affected D’Antoni’s tenure, including “blending talent in midseason.” D’Antoni coached 58 players with the Knicks.

Colangelo spent 25 minutes in discussion with Leon Rose, Carmelo Anthony’s agent, and the Raptors boss would not comment on the Anthony-D’Antoni relationship.

Colangelo and Casey's futures are intertwined. I think Colangelo's pitch for this two season extension was turning over a new leaf. That being, a focus on a two way game and a focus doing a traditional rebuild. If he were to ditch that plan now to sign MDA and then the team didn't meet the expectations we know Colangelo would be done here after next season. If he sticks to the plan and doesn't meet expectations he still has a shot at a long term deal if it's obvious there has been significant steps forward.

I think it would send the wrong message to Casey as well. Coaches typically pick their crew. He would instantly be looking over his shoulder and I think trust would become an issue. In essence, it might hurt Colangelo and Casey's relationship.

And even then, the more I think about it, it sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen. The reason coaches like to bring in their own crew and the reason why managers support and respect that is they want people who agree with their own philosophies and coaching style. That's my take on it anyway. It's the same reason why most new GM's immediately axe the old head coach when they enter the scene.

Yeah but if you want to attract Nash to come to Toronto as some of you alluded to then there is no better attraction to Nash (other then a proven winner) then having D'Antoni as part of the coaching staff.

Yeah but if you want to attract Nash to come to Toronto as some of you alluded to then there is no better attraction to Nash (other then a proven winner) then having D'Antoni as part of the coaching staff.

Being in and playing in Canada, and coming into a team with a lot of potential talent should be well enough for Nash to want to come here, but that would be even more attractive for sure.